Art News

California Lists Moon Junk as Historical Resource

LOS ANGELES, CA (REUTERS).- Seeking to preserve the site where humans first set foot on the moon, a California state panel on Friday registered a collection of 106 objects left by the Apollo 11 mission as an historical resource. The move by the state Historical Resources Commission marks the first such designation for cultural artifacts located other than on Earth, said Lisa Westwood, part of a team of scholars and museum professionals who applied for the listing. The group hopes that placing the moon objects on California’s registry of historic landmarks and resources will lead ultimately to designating Tranquility Base as a United Nations World Heritage Site. “We are elevating the profile of this resource, and instilling upon the public, which could include space travelers at some point, a sense of site stewardship and the importance of preservation,” said Westwood, an archeologist who teaches at Chico State University.